Celestial Empire

It is used to refer to the current Communist regime, to imply either disapproval for its political suppression and arrogance or national pride in the country's emergence as a superpower in the 21st century, depending on the context.

[5] In modern times it has mostly fallen into disuse, but the name "Celestial Empire" still appears in various media such as articles, stories, movies and television.

The origin of the name goes back to traditional Chinese religion, in which the sky is often considered the highest god, with emperors being Sons of Heaven (tianzi), born to govern the country.

Wang Geon, who founded the kingdom of Goryeo, named the unit Cheongun, which means the army of heaven, for the battle of Ilichon.

[15] The years of the mid- nineteenth century were instructive to the Celestial Empire's realization that it had lost its eminence as a prevailing world power.

The defeats experienced by China within the Opium Wars (1840–1842, 1856–1860), impacted the perception of Chinese nationalism; therefore, encouraging the Qing dynasty to reconsider its nationalistic approach.

[16] Zhao Suisheng had placed an emphasis on the idea that the escalation of Chinese nationalism had an explicit correlation with the intellectual search for answers to the questions regarding China's setback due to defeat in the Opium wars.

[17] This then oversaw a complete transformation in the characterisation of the term ‘Celestial Empire’ as Chinese scholars and political leaders began to evaluate the impact of the Western world.

[18] In 1864, prominent figures within the Qing government, including Prince Luanqi, Zhang Zhidong, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Zeng Guofan and Feng Guifeng launched what was known as the ‘Self-Strengthening Movement’ in order to redefine the Celestial Empire.

[21] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the Celestial Empire, Feng Guifeng prompted the insertion of Western technology to redefine Chinese nationalism.

The leaders of the Self-Strengthening Movement then introduced a vital sub-movement of modernization in order to promote industry, military force, commerce, agriculture and education.

[23] Another component of the self-strengthening movement which was vital in redefining the Celestial empire was the application of Western training techniques to the Chinese military.

[24] Within the Xiang Army, which was commanded by Zeng Guofan, who was one of the founding leaders of the self-strengthening movement; soldiers were obligated to exercise gymnastics at least twice a day as a requirement.

Zhang Zhidong, a significant leader of the Self-Strengthening Movement, explained the importance of enforcing Western training techniques on all Chinese civilians for the elevation of nationalism: ‘Gymnastics concerns the future of the country.

"[27] The introduction of Western sports and training techniques to the Chinese populace was therefore vital in the creation of a strong ‘Celestial Empire’.

The Self-Strengthening Movement served as a significant symbol to the escalation of an embryonic nationalism across China which was dedicated to reconstructing the strength of the ‘Celestial Empire’ to contest against Western powers.

In addition, even if China was politically unified, its territory and power declined, and during the heyday, the early days of the Han, Tang, and Qing, and the North and South Song periods, almost the smallest of the countries, during the period of the North and South Song, the territory and power declined even during the course of modern pre-modern history.

The Manchurians sought to rule the vast Chinese territory by integrating China's traditional bureaucracy and the tribal structure of Manchuria and Mongolia.

[31] The administrative posts were open to everyone in principle, but at the top of the central bureaucracy were held by two officials whose ministries were Chinese and Manchurian.

The Qing dynasty exercised control over an enormous, multi-ethnic and cultural empire, which consisted of numerous ethnic groups, including the Manchus, Han Chinese, the Mongols, Uyghurs, as well as the Tibetans.

[37] As the Qing rule was of predominantly Manchu descent, an ethnic minority, the notion of ‘Celestial Empire’ was familiarised in order to consolidate and affirm their power.

[41] The duration of the reign of the Qing dynasty saw the production of a multitude of different creative mediums and art forms under the concept of Celestial Empire.

He was responsible for various tasks such as administration, production, distribution, religion, judicial, education, reward and punishment, past examination, and recommendation.

It was the first attempt by the Taiping Heaven to embody the idea of Daedong, an ideal society where China's traditional great road is realized.